What Do You Think of My Buddha?

Under what circumstances does Kesey go on the drug trip?

He gets paid $75 an hour.

What two things did Vik Lovell introduce to Kesey?

He introduced Kesey to Freudian psychology and experimental gas at the Veterans Hospital, which in turn introduces him to LSD.

Where and how did Kesey first see Chief Broom?

He invented Chief Broom in a vision while he was high of peyote.

What was Kesey like when he first appeared on Perry Lane?

He was a "diamond in the rough".

How was Kesey a superkid?

He was in the generation after the depression and they looked up to superheroes in comic book.

What had Kesey done in college? Why was this all perfect for the Perry Laners?

He was paid to experiment with hallucinatory drugs and write down his thoughts and feelings. This behavior fit in with the Perry Laners because they also experimented with drugs.

Why did the patients resent McMurphy?

McMurphy forces the patients of the ward "to struggle to act like men again".

What was Perry Lane like? Who lived there?

Perry Lane was known for its "countercultural" lifestyle, where people experimented with drugs and sex. Ken Kesey lived there.

What is Perry Lane's "double personality"?

The college fraternity row and the drug experimenting.

How was the ward an anti-cure?

The ward where he worked kept the patients drugged on tranquilizers and electric shock therapy.

How does Wolfe characterize "Postwar American suburbs"?

These suburbs were an "electro-pastel surge" that were futuristic.

Respond to Wolfe's style. What did you experience as a reader? As a biography, how does Wolfe capture Kelsey's life experiences?

Wolfe's style is very descriptive in the sense that he describes Kelsey's drug experiences in first person.